Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tried Sunday to pressure the White House and the world regarding Iran's nuclear program, complaining there was not enough urgency on the issue and that Washington must demonstrate to Iran's newly elected president "by action" that "the military option which is on the table is truly on the table."

Speaking via satellite on the CBS program "Face the Nation," Netanyahu reiterated his familiar demands that Iran must be forced to stop the enrichment of nuclear material, remove already enriched uranium from the country and shut down the Qom nuclear facility. He said those demands "should be backed up with ratcheted sanctions," adding, "They have to know you'll be prepared to take military action; that's the only thing that will get their attention."

Iran maintains that its nuclear program is for civilian use.

But Netanyahu described Iran's new president, Hasan Rouhani, as a "wolf in sheep's clothing" who would "smile and build a bomb." The prime minister said Iran had not yet crossed the red line he laid out last fall in a U.N. speech but was nearing it.

The CBS interview followed similar remarks Netanyahu made Sunday at the opening of his Cabinet meeting, part of a stepped-up campaign planned in the coming days to return the world's attention to the Iranian nuclear program. The implied criticism of the U.S. government's approach since Rouhani's election came as Israeli and Palestinian officials were expecting Secretary of State John Kerry to return to the Middle East this week for his sixth visit in four months to try to revive peace talks.

At the same time, Israeli leaders were rankled by U.S. officials who confirmed over the weekend that Israel had attacked a shipment of advanced Russian-made antiship missiles in Latakia, Syria, this month. Yuval Steinitz, a senior minister close to Netanyahu, said on Israeli radio that "intelligence leaks are bad whether they come from there or from here."